More is not always better

Why do we take pride in cramming our schedules beyond what is healthy? We say yes to everything, and leave no time for ourselves. Whenever I tell anyone how much I’m doing this semester (which is admittedly way more than I intended), I get remarks of “that’s impressive,” and “good for you!” And, when we see others doing more than we are doing, we feel guilty, we think that we should be doing more. But why is more inherently better? Why is it an accomplishment to be doing so much that we don’t have time to see our friends for months on end? In reality, we should block off time to relax, to sit back and breathe. If we don’t have time to recharge, we’re going to burn out, making ourselves entirely ineffective for even the most simple of tasks. We shouldn’t wear our stress like a badge of honour, as something we are proud of. More is not always better. Remember this next time you think you can cram five courses into one semester, while also working and volunteering.